What do names like Kim K, J-Lo, and Nicki Minaj conjure ideas of? BIG BOOTIES of course. Our society is transitioning from one obsessed with tiny waists, small hips, and big breasts to a more voluptuous figure with the focus being on the booty. Celebrities like Kim Kardashian and Jennifer Lopez have been the billboard models for this new wave of body transformation.
Enter the Brazilian Butt Lift. There are varying accounts of where the term came from, also known as BBL. But one thing that is know is that a Venezuelan plastic surgeon by the name of Eduardo Krulig, first coined the phrase “lipoinjection” when he described the process of removing fat from the body using liposuction and then injecting it into another part of the body using small cannulas. That was nearly 30 years ago. Since then we have evolved quite a bit, but the same idea holds true.
In a BBL, there are two main objectives. The first, and probably most important, is the “liposculpture”. This involves rather aggressive liposuction of the areas surrounding the buttock. In fact, we can make someone’s buttock look bigger and better, without injecting a single fat cell into. We do this by sculpting the areas around the buttock such as the lower back, flanks, abdomen, pre-sacral area. This really creates a framework for the gluteal augmentation itself.
The second part is the augmentation with fat transfer. The fat that is removed during liposuction is processed and then placed into syringes. The fat is then injected back into the body using long cannulas placed through very small incisions. The fat is used to increase the size of the buttock, and also to redistribute the fat into more appealing areas to improve the overall shape of the buttock.
There are 4 main shapes to the buttock: the A frame, the V frame, the square and the round. The aesthetically pleasing shape varies from culture to culture. Here in the United States, the most aesthetically pleasing shape is usually the A frame, and sometime the round frame. Whatever shape is desirable, our job as surgeons is to then use the tools of liposuction and fat transfer to remove and replace fat in the right areas to give the shape and look the patient desires. It is very much like sculpting.
With the tools and techniques we have today, the BBL procedure can be a very rewarding experience with excellent results. Patient satisfaction is typically very high. A small percentage of patients will need a revision in the future. This is usually because they want to be bigger, or because they still need some more fat removed from unwanted areas than could safely be removed the first time around.
In the right hands you can have a enjoyable experience with an excellent outcome to give you a look that will last for years. After training with one of the pioneers in Gluteal Augmentation, Dr. Mendieta in Miami, Dr. Arslanian believes he can provide those fantastic results and give his patients what they are looking for.
(Above): What some may consider the “ideal” shape in western culture: The A frame. This will vary from culture to culture, but in western culture most would consider this a very aesthetically pleasing buttock.
(Below): Here we see the 4 major shapes of buttock. The first set being the more aesthetically pleasing A Frame shape with a narrower waist and more volume of the lower lateral hips. The second set demonstrates the round frame shape which can also be aesthetically pleasing and is more common in the African American population. Below that is the V frame shape and then the square frame shape. These are typically less aesthetically pleasing shapes and often require a greal deal of reshaping to get the desired look.
